Whole Foods Market Cambie debuts new Allegro Café

Whole Foods Market on Cambie has upped the grocery game with their in-house Allegro Café, a coffee shop that happens to also serve up local beer and wine.

With renovations in the store already underway, WFM Cambie opted to shift their floral area from the upper level to the main floor, making way for a coffee shop with its own entrance off Cambie.

Serving up eats from within the store, like sandwiches you can grab cold or have heated up, along with baked goods and other prepared foods, the café is also brewing up their in-house brand Allegro coffee, tea, and espresso drinks. With room for 60 people, free WiFi, and ample plugs, the café opens up at 6 a.m.–an hour earlier than the store–and closes at 10 p.m.

Beer and wine is served starting at 9 a.m. (ideal for those in search of the ol’ hair of the dog) and they’ve got a thoughtfully curated list of bottles. Among the brewers whose wares you’ll find at Allegro are Parallel 49, Four Winds, and Phillips.

There’s an emphasis on local and sustainable, as one might expect of Whole Foods, and that ranges from the stools made by Union Wood Co. sourced from wood saved from a demolished area elementary school to the café seeking the input of locals on what beers and wines they’d like to see on the menu.

Other welcoming touches include the communal Bloom Table, and the ability to bring up an item or two from the store to purchase and enjoy in the café. Allegro Café is running a Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m. with wine at $4/glass, and there are plans in the works for theme nights–think Beer & Pretzels or Oyster Shucking).

Hopefully, B.C.’s evolving liquor laws will ultimately make way for the store to be able to stock on their shelves the same beers and wines Allegro Café customers enjoy upstairs.